Iranu
"Nobody's geting killed here while I'm around." --Iranu Iranu is a Toa of Shadows from the Expanded Multiverse Aethion. He was originally spawned in the Year 199 as a Toa of Fire on Atohune and welcomed into the Tribe Darkfire, therefore becoming a Toa of Shadows as part of the Tribe's ritual. He later left Tribal to live on Alarist, where he joined the Alarist Planetary Authority Agency. In the Year 469, Iranu became tangled in the events surrounding Project SkyBlue. Biography 'Atohune' Spawned onto the planet Atohune in the Aethion Standard Year 199, Iranu was immediently taken into Tribe Darkfire, a tribe made up of shadow-elemented beings. In time, Iranu became the tribe's most skilled warrior, winning many territory disputes and making his tribe quite rich. He was a brutal, but fair warrior, and refused to kill his enemies unless he absolutely had to. He was also very connected to his Turaga, Tihzar, who was a fatherly figure to the Toa. One time, Darkfire's military leader, a Makuta named Tyrhad, challenged Iranu's skills by ordering him to climb Shadow Cliff, a vertical drop about five hundred feet to Ato River at the bottom. Even by the best warriors, the climb usually took at least a day to accomplish. Iranu, eager to prove the overconfident Makuta wrong, climbed the cliff in two hours. 'A New Life' "If you are unhappy here, what makes you think you will find happiness on another world?" : --Turaga Tihzar After a century of living on Atohune, Iranu began to grow weary of his primitive lifestyle. He was always intrigued by technology from planets like Clysmax and Alarist, and never believed in the "spirits" the tribes of Atohune worshipped. When a visitor from Central came to Atohune, Iranu asked if he could join him. The visitor, a Jungle Glatorian named Mahkii, agreed. After informing his Turaga, he joined Mahkii back to Central, where the Glatorian acted as a guide for Iranu, and the two became fast friends. Iranu and Mahkii soon signed up for the newly-formed Alarist Planetary Authority Agency (APAA), a planet-wide police force that dealt with major crimes. Iranu and Mahkii both worked on cases such as the Cargo Star Scandal, the Great Museum Heist, and the Vahk Incident. Soon afterwards, Iranu befriended a Toa of Earth named Xander, who was in command of the failed 181st Squadron (nicknamed the "One Eighty-Worst). With Iranu's help, Spike Squadron, as it was soon called, became the APAA's most efficient squadron, dealing with high-class and dangerous missions. 'Hostage Crisis' "I don't think we've ever been on a mission together. Knowing you reputation, I think this should be interesting." : --Iranu, upon meeting Vraxan 'The Forum Massacre' One such mission was the Forum Plaza Massacre of 444. On a cloudy afternoon in BZ-Koro's Forum Plaza, a trio of entirely black-armored beings entered the plaza and brutally massacred everyone in the complex. When Spike Squadron was sent to investigate, Iranu found that every dead body had the same mark scratched into their masks: "MIB". After a planet-wide investigation that even led them to Clysmax, Spike Squadron solved the case and brought the conspirators to justice. 'Project SkyBlue' "A beings capable of complete control of the Bluespace that makes up Aethion. Za'gnok claims to use the results of the project to stop the Olmak Effect, but the truth is much worse..." : --Noki 'The Stolen Shipment' Late in the Year 469, Iranu was called out to investigate rumors of a stolen Kanohi shipment sighted in an abandoned sector of Wiki-Nui. Iranu arrived at the abandoned building, alone, where he found two Skakdi and a Vortixx with the shipment. After defeating the two Skakdi, the Vortixx pulled a Zamor on him, but Mahkii arrived with an APAA squad just in time and arrested the Vortixx and Skakdi. The next day, Iranu was assigned to interrogate the Vortixx, who introduced herself as Raksha. When Iranu asked who she was working for, and the Vortixx hinted that she was in league with the Alarist Underground crime ring. However, before Raksha revealed any more, she lunged forward and linked to Iranu's mind, reading his thoughts and memories. The memory that stood out was that of Iranu's discussion of leaving Atohune to Turaga Tihzar, during which Iranu was given the crystal he wore around his neck. When Iranu snapped out of the memory, he threatened the Vortixx to answer his questions, but Raksha refused. Iranu, a bit shaken and irritated, announced that the interrogation was over. 'The Prison Riot' "On the 221st day of the Year 469, the Agency regretted their ignorance." : --Narrator After the interrogation, Iranu went down to the APAA shooting range to blow off steam. As he was about to shoot the target, a Glatorian suddenly appeared in front of him, teleported by the Olmak Affect from Barrawahi. The Glatorian introduced himself as the Red Skull champion Deadlock, and demanded he be returned to Warzone. Iranu remarked that the only way to get back was through the Hand of Faith's Totem, a rival clan that surely would not accept the Red Skull. Before Iranu could do anything about the planet-swapped Glatorian, he got a report of a prison riot in Prison Block 84G, a notoriously poorly-guarded section of the prison. He reluctantly took Deadlock with him, who wanted some excitement. When they reached 84G, they found that all the prisoners had escaped to the hanger below the prison. After taking out a few prisoners and stopping Deadlock from killing one, Iranu saw that three Thornatus V10's had escaped, one of which was piloted by Raksha. Mounting a Kaxium, Iranu pursued the escapees, taking out two Thornatus and their drivers. After chasing Raksha through the chute system, Iranu forced her out of the chute and causing both to crash on the street. Raksha escaped, however, with Iranu in pursuit. The Toa of Shadows cornered her in an alleyway, but was distracted by a voice behind him. With the Toa's attention diverted, Raksha slipped away. The voice came from Iappreo, the Toa of Gravity in charge of the APAA. He told Iranu that he was charged with letting out the prisoners, then joining them in escaping. Before, Iranu could prove his innocence, he was forced into an Airship and taken away. 'Return to Atohune' "I came on... Rather unusual circumstances." : --Iranu Iranu was taken to the Alarist Scientific Research facility, where he was led into a strange laboratory. A Ko-Matoran scientist and Tjuun Iranu recognized as Za'gnok were waiting for him in the room. Siron, the Matoran, explained that he was the subject of a very important experiment, but was vauge on the details. When Iranu questioned the Matoran, Za'gnok disreguarded the Matoran and briefly explained the experiment. However, Iranu suddenly recieved what he later thought to be a Mindtouch, which told him to run. Driven by the supposed Mindtouch, Iranu escaped Za'gnok and ran outside the building, where Mahkii was waiting for him with weapons drawn. Mahkii was shocked at the revelation that Iranu was the fugitive, but allowed his friend to use his Jetrax to escape. Iranu was unwilling to encourage his reputation as a fugitive; however, he decided to flee to Atohune while things die down. While en route to the ITH, Iranu's Jetrax was shot down by a Skopio Turret under Iappreo's (under orders from Za'gnok) command. However, before Iranu hit the ground, he was suddenly teleported to the Olmak Totem, which instantly sent him to Tribal. Iranu would later discover that it was the Titanmorph of an Agent that saved him. 'Siboto' When Iranu reached Ceruix, he ran into the native Shadow Agori Tuuran. Recognizing Iranu from his last visit, Tuuran led the former warrior into Ceruix, where Tihzar, Tyrhad, rookie warrior Neyo, and Skrall veteran big-game hunter Kravok were having an arguement. The debate was interrupted by Iranu's appearance, to which Tihzar quickly greeted his former apprentice. The Turaga explained that the Tribe was in a cold war with rival Tribe Avchai, which could erupt into battle. Kravok had come to the tribe to ask for support in the capture of the legendary Siboto, an android who was rumored to contain secrets to Enlightened. Tihzar had agreed to supply two warriors on the condition that one, Siboto's secrets be informed to him; and two, that Tribe Darkfire receives 50% of Kravok's reward. Kravok agreed, and Tihzar sent Iranu and Neyo off with the Skrall before the former could explain his situation. The next morning, the trio set off to ambush Siboto at his refuge: a dead supertree. An impatient Kravok threw a Blue Grime grenade into the supertree, igniting the surrounding area and drawing Siboto from his hideout. Iranu paralyzed the Skrall with his EL-44 for his actions, but Neyo tried to attack the android and was nearly electrocuted by Siboto's lightning powers. Siboto attempted to kill Kravok, but was stopped by Iranu shooting off the branch of a tree, which fell and damaged Siboto's leg. When interrogated, Siboto claimed to know nothing of Izumal or his creation. Iranu believed the android, but Kravok did not; accusing Siboto of falsehood. Iranu berated the Skrall, and told him to watch over Neyo while he returned to Ceruix for supplies. 'The Massacre at Ceruix' "You don't deserve to live..." : --Iranu, to Reizn Iranu returned to Ceruix, he found the entire underground city in flames. Rushing into the city, he found that everyone had been slaughtered and the buildings destroyed. He searched for Tihzar, but only found his staff half-buried in rubble. Iranu escaped the city with Tihzar's staff, his emotions mixed. He suddenly heard another voice behind him: a Toa of Ice named Reizn, who was the assassin who slaughtered his tribe. Iranu savagely attacked Reizn, but the Toa of Ice overpowered him with his Kanohi Elcrof. When Iranu knocked the mask from Reizn, the latter telekinetically returned the mask to his face. The two fought to the top of Ceruix Point, where Reizn knocked Iranu over the edge of the cliff. Believing the Toa of Shadows to be dead, Reizn lowered his weapons, but Iranu had caught a vine on the cliff face. He shot himself back over the edge, once again knocking the Elcrof from Reizn's face. But before the Toa of Ice could retrieve it, Iranu crushed the powerful mask beneath his heel. Iranu then proceeded to physically attack Reizn, breaking his leg and grabbing him by the throat, holding him over the cliff. Iranu demanded to know who Reizn was working for, but the severely wounded Toa only barely made out part of a name. Enraged and frustrated, Iranu threw the dead Toa over the edge and yelled out in anguish. 'Back to Alarist' Later, when Neyo and Siboto returned (Kravok had been sucked into an Olmak Effect), Iranu buried Tihzar's shattered body, imbedding his staff into the grave and draping the chain which held the Tribal crystal over it. After taking a moment to take in what had happened, Iranu announced that he was returning to Alarist to take revenge upon Za'gnok. Neyo agreed, as he also sought vengeance. Siboto warned Iranu and Neyo about the dangers of revenge, but nonetheless agreed to aid his newfound friends. Iranu then attempted to contact Mahkii via Gadget, but the Jungle Glatorian's connection was terminated. He then contacted his old friend Xander, who did reply. The Toa of Earth filled Iranu in on the situation, and offered to block off the Tribal ITH to cover his return. Xander also advised Iranu and Neyo to take disguises upon entry. After searching the ruins of Ceruix, Neyo found an old Element Key that Siboto identified as Silver, as well as a Kadin. Iranu donned the Mask of Flight in order to fly up to the Bluespace Wall, and activated the Element Swap. Siboto later revealed that the Element swap was imperfect, and Iranu still had traces of Fire and Shadows in his body. The trio then used the Olmak Totem to return to Alarist, where Spike Squadron was waiting for them. After a brief reunion, the group was ambushed by APAA forces. Iranu and Spike Squadron were placed under arrest, but Neyo and Siboto escaped in the chaos. The commander of the APAA officers was identified as Noki, but Iranu instantly recognized her as Raksha. 'The Battle of Za-Clysmi' Taken back to the APAA HQ, Iranu was placed in the same interrogation room that he questioned Raksha in a few days earlier, only this time, their roles were reversed. Iranu demanded to know what was going on with the Vortixx. Raksha explained that she was originally Noki, an APAA double-agent assigned to inflitrate the Alarist Underground. But during the misison, Noki developed a split personality and became the AG informant Raksha. Noki then explained Za'gnok's intentions for the Project SkyBlue, and that the APAA was aware of his innocence and was preparing to launch a strike force on Za'gnok's Clysmax Fragment before he could complete his plans. The two made their way to the hangar, where Iappreo and Spike Squadron were discussing their battle plan. After a briefing of the strike plans, the team boarded their vehicles and transported to Shattered. (via Ta-Clysmax) As the air convoy approached Za'gnok's Fragment, they came under attack by Scythe-class Ice Fighters, led by the bounty hunter Vroxx. In the mass dogfight that ensued, Jerrok dropped Trigger's Skopio off at the fragment's landing pad, but the Fire Glatorian was shot down by Vroxx. While Trigger decimated Za'gnok's defenses, Nirox guarded the Skopio from Ice Fighters. Vroxx attempted to shoot down Xander, but a mysterious black Jetrax appeared and destroyed the bounty hunter's weapons. Vroxx then disappeared, accidentally activating his Blue Gems in frustration. Once the landing pad was secure, Nirox dropped off Noki, Iranu, and Vraxan. They were joined by Trigger to lead the infiltration of Za'gnok's Mansion, while Voriki and Tek'din searched the storage buildings on the far side of the fragment. Xander, who was set to join them, was having troubles with Ice Fighters and could not join them. The four entered the palace, where they came under attack by three TK-class Omega Drones. The skirmish was cut short upon the appearance of an Olmak Effect, which devoured the Omega Drones. Frustrated with his substitute element, Iranu saw the opportunity to switch back to Shadows. Taking the Element Key, he approached the OE and preformed the swap, but was sucked into the anomaly and Copied. However, he was thrown out of the Effect, unharmed, and the group continued on. 'Confrontation with Za'gnok' They soon reached a large room with illustrations of the eight planets of Aethion, and notes detailing Za'gnok's domination plans. They attemoted to decipher the notes, but were interrupted by the appearance of Za'gnok, empowered with Bluespace. Trigger attempted to attack the Tjuun with his multiple weapons, but Za'gnok vaporized the Agori without lifting a finger. Vraxan, enraged over his friend's death, attacked Za'gnok, but he ended up badly burned by the Bluespace. Iranu told Noki and Vraxan to go back to the platform, and to let him take care of Za'gnok. The two dueled, but it was obvious that Za'gnok was much more powerful than the Toa of Shadows. Iranu began to realized that Za'gnok was slowly draining his life force as they battled, but was prepared to die in order to save Aethion. Za'gnok finally caught Iranu by the neck and held him against the wall, explaining his actions to his enemy. Before Za'gnok could finish Iranu, he was struck in the back by a pink Zamor sphere, which quickly began to drain his Bluespace energy. The Zamor was revealed to have came from Deadlock, who had been returned to normal by the same substance. As his power began to fade away, Za'gnok made a last attempt at Iranu's life, but was halted by the arrival of Tek'din. As the three decided what to do with the broken Tjuun, two Izumal Agents appeared to take Za'gnok away. They sealed Za'gnok in a nanite sphere, but not before the Tjuun gave Iranu a vision of the location of his missing allies. When Iranu awoke, Za'gnok and the Agents were gone. When Tek'din and Deadlock questioned him, Iranu replied that he believed Za'gnok had allies that may have taken Neyo and Siboto. Later, Iranu was approached by the Toa Sectra Ektris, who offered Iranu a medal of honor for his actions. Iranu declined the medal, claiming it to go to Xander and Spike Squadron, as they were the real heroes. Ektris acknowledged his request, then informed Iranu of the termination of the APAA by Toa Sectra Leader Swert. Iranu then joined Noki and Spike Squadron on their Helix back to Alarist, vowing that he would find Neyo and Siboto. 'The Secret War' 'Encounter at Clysmax' Over the next two years, Iranu, along with Noki and Xander, would scour Aethion in search of Neyo, Siboto, and Mahkii. Early in the Year 470, they first encountered Xanatos and a group of his cybermutants on the remnants of Za-Clysmi. Xanatos was the "brother" of Siboto, and the one who had captured the missing trio. He revealed to Iranu his plans to "perfect" Aethion by assimilating its population into biomechanical beings, through which he called the BioMech. He was on Za'gnok's Fragment to retrieve the Tjuun's Blue Gems, which he would use to navigate Aethion efficiently. Iranu tried to capture Xanatos, but was overtaken by his cybermutants. One of the mutants revealed itself to be Neyo, twisted and warped by the BioMech. Iranu tried to convince Neyo to come back with him, but the cybermutant refused and knocked Iranu off the edge of the fragment. Iranu was rescued by Xander piloting the Helix, and Noki had retrieved the Blue Gems before Xanatos could get to them. 'A Puzzling Discovery' They took the Blue Gems to Arvis, who discovered their power and uses. He helped them infuse the Gems into the Silver Stryke, allowing them to teleport to all the planets of Aethion except Izumal and Enigma. Arvis also worked with Iranu to create a wrist gauntlet out of the remains of the latter's gadget. It was capable of all gadget operations, including detaching and functionig as a probe. While disassembling the gadget, Arvis discovered a small device that constantly recorded Iranu's location and actions. Despite the device self-destructing before Arvis could track its signal, he calculated that the device had been relaying all of Iranu's actions for well over a century-- all of Iranu's life after leaving Atohune. 'Old Friends' Into the Year 471, the trio began to get impatient. Despite the discovery of a vulnerable node on all cybermutants that allowed control from the BioMech, progress was still minimal. To make things worse, their Blue Gems were becoming unstable, spawning multiple Olmak Effects with every planetary jump. Arvis suggested they obtain a third Gem in order to stabilize the other two, and Iranu knew where to find one. Iranu, using a special Shadow Cloak he had obtained earlier, traveled to the island of Xanadai off the coast of Wiki-Nui to seek out Ciahlk, an old friend and former APAA officer. However, Ciahlk had become the leader of an Iron-affiliated pirate gang, and Iranu's appearance at their saloon did not go as planned. Along the way, Iranu was tracking two BioMech signals approaching the island. After asking the bartender about a meeting with Ciahlk, Iranu was questioned by the Toa's lieutenant, a Fe-Glatorian named Miol. Miol refused to allow him a meeting with Ciahlk, and the two began to fight. After a brief but bloody fight, Iranu defeated Miol, but the fight caught the attention of Ciahlk. Ciahlk ordered everyone out of the saloon, then sat and spoke with Iranu. Ciahlk at first suspected Iranu of attempting to get him to rejoin the APAA, remarking on his dislike of Iappreo and the Toa Sectra. Iranu informed him that the APAA had been terminated and Iappreo discharged, but Ciahlk was still suspicious of him. He then admitted to Ciahlk that he needed a Blue Gem, to which Ciahlk reluctantly agreed, leading Iranu into the back room. While Ciahlk retrieved the Blue Gem, Iranu checked the targets he had been tracking, but they had mysteriously disappeared. Then, everything fell apart. Ciahlk revealed himself to be a disguised Xanatos, and two other cybermutants appeared on either side, one from Ciahlk and the other from Miol. Iranu attempted to attack Xanatos, but the android pinned his arm against the wall with electricity. Iranu criticized the android's actions and Siboto's choice to join him, while Xanatos justified their actions with his views on perfection. He then remarked that Iranu was the only obstacle in his way and ordered Miol to capture him. The cyber-Miol attempted to take him, but Iranu kicked him towards Xanatos, who teleported out of the way. Iranu pre-calculated his position, and landed a blow on Xanatos as he reconstituted, breaking the android's concentration. Iranu then destroyed the node on Ciahlk and proceeded to fend off Miol. As the fight began to turn against Iranu, Noki and Xander arrived in the Silver Stryke, distracting cyber-Miol. Iranu proceeded to destroy Miol's control node, then took Ciahlk's body to the Helix, lamenting on Xanatos's escape. 'The New Quest' 'Starting Over' Safely aboard the Stryke, Iranu suggested they contact Ektris and tell him to quarantine Xanadai in case of other cybermutants. As he began to put in the coordinates, Xander confronted him with the fact that they had been hunting Xanatos for two years with little progress. Also growing impatient, Iranu yelled at Xander, then apologized, agreeing on their predicament. He then reminded his allies that he had a promise to fullfill, and they were free to go if they wished. However, Xander and Noki refused, reminding Iranu that they also made a promise and that they were his friends. Noki then made a remark referring to Iranu as "soldier boy" as she used to as Raksha years earlier. Iranu questioned this, to which Noki suggested that, "Maybe it's time to start over.", referring to Iranu's home of Atohune. Iranu agreed, and they set a course for Tribal. 'Brief Excursion' Upon arrival at Ceruix, the three found the site covered in remains of warriors from the Avchai Tribe. Iranu concluded they had tried to loot the ruins, but someone or something prevented them from it. Upon inspection of Tihzar's grave, Iranu was dismayed to find the yellow crystal gone. He explained that Tihzar had found the crystal in a hollowed-out supertree, the home of Siboto. This led him to believe that the crystal was important to the android, but he was not sure exactly how. Before they could search for it, a detonator exploded between them, sending them and the cliffside tumbling into the Ato River. When they awoke, they found themselves captured by the Vlaa'din, an all-Tjuun Tribe. The Turaga Iek'var was under the impression that they were attempting to steal the Tribe's sacred spider, the Din'schu, and held them as sacrifices to the Rahi. Despite Iranu's attempts to deter the Turaga, Iek'var released the spider, but before it could prey on the three, they were saved by Deadlock, who was now known as Kole and had electrical abilities as a result of the events two years prior. 'A New Start' After being freed, the four's only way of escape was through the approaching Olmak anomaly. They reluctantly leapt through, and found themselves on the outskirts of Izumal. Abilities and Traits "I'd prefer for us to wait before we start shooting... Usually the bad guys are the ones who start taking shots at us." : --Iranu, Hostage Diversion As a Toa of Shadows, Iranu was able to control, create, and manipulate shadows. He never had much of an experience with the Fire Element, but traces of the Element still lie within him due to faulty element swaps. To disguise himself, Iranu was forced to change his element to Silver, in which he gained control of the elemental power. During the Battle of Za'gnok's Fragment, Iranu changed his element back to Shadows when he was near an Olmak Effect, but he was also sucked into it. Iranu had very serious personality, not one to joke around during a mission. As a Toa of Shadows, he could be dark and grim, but often tried to supress the nature of his element. However, he was prone to lose control, shown in Chapter 10 when he savagely killed Reizn. He cared much for his allies, and trusted his friends with his life. Despite his heroic front, Iranu held a low confidence in himself since the massacre of his tribe, convinced that he was capable of saving them when he obviously could not have. This mentality worsened during his agenda against Xanatos, to the point where his sanity was at one time questioned by Arvis. Nearly driven over the edge by the loss of Neyo, Iranu came to terms with himself when he encountered a cybermutant Reizn (suspected to be a hallucination) at Hotel Clysmax. Weapons and Tools As a warrior on Atohune, Iranu carried a Hooked Tribal Blade, which he later traded in for a police-issue EL-44 Element Rifle on Alarist. He wore a Kanohi Kiril, the Great Mask of Regeneration, but rarely used it, only choosing the mask because it was special to him, and he liked its features. Built into the Kanohi was a Tactical visor that slid down over the eyeslit of the Kiril, which would give Iranu a Heads-Up Display that connected to his EL-44 and to APAA vehicles. He owned a Gadget, which he constantly tinkered with and modified. It was destroyed during his battle with Za'gnok. However, using the remains of the robot, he and Arvis created a multi-functional guantlet that fit onto the wrist and lower arm that was capable of all Gadget programs, nicknamed the "Gadget Gauntlet". He wears his on his right wrist, and it includes a GPS map, TeleNet broadcasting, communications, and more. He also carried the yellow crystal given to him by Tihzar in a clear canister attached to a chain which he wore around his neck. He usually kept the canister tucked under his chest armor plating for protection from damage and from those who would wish to steal it. It was lost during his skirmish with Reizn, but later recovered by the bounty hunter Vroxx and soon returned to Iranu. Its true nature is unknown Trivia *Iranu is a recurring character in the author's epics, most notably The Academy Series. The are all considered Copies of the Prime Multiverse Iranu. *Iranu (Description only) was entered in the Expanded Multiverse Denizens Contest; however, the entry never made it past the Preliminaries. Appearances *The Aethion Project *The Aethion Quest *Hostage Diversion Category:Characters